


By the Skin of my Teeth

by trinsghost



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Halloween in Derry, Mystery, Neibolt House, No Gore, Original Character(s), Other, horror light, kinda scary, main original character can be anybody
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-07
Updated: 2020-11-07
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:55:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,854
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27436936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trinsghost/pseuds/trinsghost
Summary: This is set in between Derry's adventures with the Losers Club.
Relationships: Pennywise (IT)/Original Character(s), Pennywise (IT)/Reader
Kudos: 6





	By the Skin of my Teeth

**Author's Note:**

> For DragonZora Art, for our group's Samhain/Halloween gift exchange.

“The costume looks great, honey! I think Grandma has a necklace in that trinket box she gave you that would go with it.”

Nodding to Dad, I headed back up to my room to pull out the box he mentioned from my closet. Bringing it to my bed, I opened it up and rummaged through its contents. It had trinkets and costume jewelry from Grandma and a few things that belonged to Great Uncle Harold, too.

I pulled out the leather corded necklace I was looking for; a single animal tooth the size of a quarter dangled from it, connected by a small piece of fossilized amber. Dad was right, this would look perfect with my Halloween costume.

Slipping it over my head, I let it fall around my neck and dangle over the collar of my shirt. Now, it was time to grab a pillow-case for trick-or-treating and meet up with friends.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Three of us got together - Alec, Jodi and me and we made our way up and down the streets. So many homes decorated for Halloween with bright lights, jack-o-lanterns and stuff I’m sure was meant to scare little kids. Some gave away HUGE candy bars, while others let us grab a small handful as long as we said “trick or treat” and “thank you”.

An hour or so into our journey, we ended up on a street that only had a few houses on it. They usually didn’t do anything for Halloween.

“Should we skip this street and head to the next one on the right?” I asked, pointing over to the blinking orange and green lights peeking out beyond the trees around the corner.

“Yeah, might as well do that.” Alec shrugged, and the three of us walked down the street with groups of others darting up and down, no doubt getting their candy haul on. “Why is it that this area always seems to do nothing on Halloween?”

I wasn’t entirely sure, so I didn’t answer as we walked past the houses to our right with no lights on, bathed only in the glow of several widely spaced street lights. The left side of the street was a vacant lot, rusted out cars sitting in pieces among patches of knee high weeds.

“I think it’s cuz of that house,” Jodi pointed, her voice taking on an ominous tone. I think we all collectively shivered as we looked over. That tall, dark monstrosity had to have been empty for as long as my family has lived here. 

“Neibolt House. I wish they would bulldoze that thing out of existence,” Alec nodded.

“Too many stories about that place. Haunted house kinda stuff. Murders. Things that make it just a little bit harder to walk in front of it when you see it, yah know?” Jodi mused, reaching in her bag for a piece of candy.

“I’ve heard things, but I dunno, maybe it’s just an old house? Maybe it’s all rumors?” I questioned. Before I could turn around, a group of four kids, two of them much taller and larger than us stopped feet from where we stood. They all wore dark clothing and what looked like ski masks. What were these guys dressed as, the Foot Clan?

“You don’t believe in the stories? Think you’re brave enough to go in there, then?” one of the kids asked, his voice iced with threat.

The three of us looked at one another and made to walk away from the other group, but they closed in and had us surrounded.

“C’mon then. One of you go have a look and see. You all aren’t chicken, are you?” another of them said, followed closely by one of them clucking, taunting us.

“How freaking childish. Man, get lost. Go bother somebody else,” Alec said, stepping closer to Jodi and me.

“How ‘bout this, one of us goes in there with one of you. The rest of us will stand here and wait, nice and cosy til you come back out. The name of the game - steal something from in there, and we’ll leave you alone. For now.”

“UGH, fine!” I hollered, rolling my eyes and handing over my pillowcase of candy to Jodi. “Enough of this crap. Who’s coming with me?”

The Foot Clan all looked at each other, no one volunteering right off the bat to join in.  
“Uh huh, who are you guys calling chicken?” I smirked.

“Alright, alright. Jimmy, you go with Jurassic Park here. Get in there and find something within five minutes, then head out.” I could almost hear Jimmy gulp, then shrink back at the command from his friend, but then he took a step forward to stand alongside me and together, we made our way to the front yard of Neibolt House.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 

Jimmy walked quietly, matching my steps as we walked the pathway, weeds and sunflowers on either side, up to the rickety steps at the front door. He nodded to me, audibly gulping again as I sighed, taking the remaining strides to the door. I heard him following me up, the wood creaking as he took to stand behind me. Grasping the handle, I turned it and gave the door a shove, then two and finally a third with his help and we were in.

The house was as I thought it was, pitch black, decades old, dusty and covered in cobwebs. I shivered as a faint chill settled into my shoulders, looking back to see my dark clothed companion standing stock still.

“Wish we had a flashlight in here. I didn’t even think to bring one tonight,” I whispered.

“Ask, and you shall receive,” he whispered back, pulling a small flashlight from his pocket. He turned it on and it cut a bright light throughout the entryway. Continuing forward, Jimmy followed me with the light pointing the way in his gently shaking hand.

We walked along the main floor quietly and carefully, though quick enough to cover three rooms before we reached a winding staircase on one side.

“This place seems old. Really old. I don’t think we should go up there or downstairs if there’s a cellar.” I muttered to him, watching cobwebs on a light in the second floor ceiling waft back and forth as he pointed the flashlight upwards.

“Agreed. I think we have one room to go. I bet it’s a kitchen,” Jimmy whispered. I nodded back, motioning him to follow me to the last room we would explore.

He was right. As soon as I pressed a door open we found ourselves in a kitchen and what looked like a dining area. It looked like something out of my grandparents house, with old timey appliances, cabinets and even the table all the same pea green color. 

Despite some of the cabinets falling partially from the walls and a big hole in the ceiling, it looked like someone had set the table for dinner and just up and left. Even some fancy glasses were set out like someone was about to have a Sunday roast or something.

He took a few steps away from my side to look at the fridge and oven while I stopped at the table, furrowing my brows as I looked at the table settings. Something didn’t add up here.

Just then, a cReaK sounded from the floor above us, enough to make the ceiling pitch dust on us from overhead. Jimmy’s flashlight shot upwards and we both looked at each other. What the hell was THAT?

“You know what? I think now’s the perfect time to grab something small, anything and get OUT of here,” I said.

“Y-yeah, I’m with you. What do we get?” he stepped up beside me. At that moment we heard another big creak from the floor above, though from further behind us. “Whoever is up there is aiming for the stairs!,” he whispered, his voice verging on panic.

“Okay, let’s do this.” I scanned the table for something to grab and spied something hiding under a plate. Lifting a plate, I could see it was an old photograph. I tucked it into my pants pocket, about to turn around when I heard a sound that sent goosebumps down my spine.

A gurgling, giggling, drowning sound was right behind us. I slowly turned, seeing Jimmy as wide-eyed as I was. An inky black fog blocked the entryway to the kitchen. As it drifted forward, I could see faint colors; gray, white and red shifting in the haze. It growled, and that’s when I heard Jimmy shriek, backing up to a wall behind him. The fog, entity, whatever it was lunged forward toward him and that’s when my drive for self preservation kicked in. I ran right out of the kitchen, down a hallway (Wrong way, dufus!) and tucked myself into a corner of what must’ve been an old hall closet, the door long since removed.

Shivering and cowering in the dark, I jumped several times as Jimmy screamed, his terror seeping into my veins. Then all went quiet.

Preparing to stay right where I was for a few minutes until it sounded safe enough to bolt for the front, I didn’t expect the fog to peel around the corner of the closet and stop, seemingly staring right at ME.

I stared back at it, shaking like a leaf, nowhere to run as I looked at the wavering form. It had to have been a head taller than my Dad, and somehow it had a faint form in it that I couldn’t quite make out. Silvery gray from where its neck might be, down to near its “feet”. Smeared red and white floated around two yellow orbs that might have been eyes. They focused intently on me.

The form reached out and I shrunk back, wishing I could blend in the wall. I let out a pitied whine as a large hand appeared, resting itself on my head.

“Too bad you aren’t my kind of snack,” he gurgled, and I could’ve sworn it giggled as the large hand patted my head and drew back into the fog, a jingle sounding as it moved and swirled in the fog. Holding my breath, I expected it to do something to me, but a whimper from back in the kitchen drew its attention and it circled back towards Jimmy.

Poor guy. If I knew what we were dealing with, I might’ve gone in after it. At this point though, having nearly peed myself from fright, it was time to make a speedy exit.

I scrambled up and ran to the front door, my hands shaking as I heard screams pick up again from behind me. Finally getting the door open, I nearly tripped and fell down the stairs, running for my life back to my friends and the rest of the awaiting Foot Clan.

“Woah, you made it? Did you get anything? Are..are you okay?” Jodi wrapped an arm around me as she caught me shaking.

“Hey, where’s Jimmy. Is he still in there?” one in the other group asked.

“I think he is, yeah,” I nodded my head, closing my eyes, trying to will the experience out of my head.

“Why did you leave him in there? We need to go get him!” the biggest of the Foot Clan kids hollered. He motioned to his buddies to join him, and in that moment I had to speak up.

“No! Don’t go in there. I absolutely would NOT go in there if I were you. Whatever’s going on in there, I don’t think you’ll like what you find.”

“You didn’t hurt him, did yah?” one of the kids asked, stepping up to me.

“No, we stuck together until we had to grab something, then heard a noise and we ended up separated. I am so sorry. You might want to call the police when you get home. Maybe they can check into it from there,” I said, pulling my friends with me down the street and around the corner, to the homes well lit with Halloween lights.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

After I split off from my friends near home, I made my way in and waved to my parents, dumping my candy in a bowl and grabbing a few treats to eat up in my room.

As I walked up the stairs, I realized something. No one, not the Foot Clan or my friends had asked about what I grabbed from the house. Nearing my room, I slipped my hand into my pants pocket. The picture was gone. Damnit!

Not having that picture in hand made me a little angry, but at least I could fill my friends in tomorrow on what I saw and experienced in that house. Sitting down on my bed, I unlaced and toed my shoes off in front of me, opening up a candy bar to eat as I took another look at the trinket box from my Grandma. It was full of all sorts of old, tiny toys and costume jewelry. What caught my eye was a rolled up piece of paper on one side of the box. Picking it up gingerly, I walked over to my bedroom lamp, unrolling it and holding it under the light.

“Turns out this necklace with a dino tooth, along with a few other baubles I bought from the tribe south of here IS worth something. Some sort of protection when in danger. Never needed it myself, though Uncle Harold said he escaped some beastly man at a circus once by wearing it. Keep it safe and with you always.”

Huh. Looking down at the necklace, I palmed the tooth in my hand, eyeing it and the amber as it glinted in the light. I rolled the slip of paper back up and started walking toward my bedroom window when something out of the corner of my eye caught my attention. Looking sideways to the full length mirror near my closet door I stopped, nearly dropping the paper.

In the mirror, the only thing reflecting back at me was a dog. One big, hairy dog. Walking up to the reflection, I looked up, down, left and right and it mimicked my movements. What the..?  
Looking down at the necklace, I wondered. I pulled it slowly over my head and looked up.  
The dog was gone.

And in a flash I pulled that necklace back on.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

The next morning, I woke up and blearily walked down the stairs to breakfast. Mom was setting the table while Dad began placing plates of toast, eggs and bacon in the middle. I sat down, grabbing some toast and bacon, staring off into space as I crunched away.

“Did you have a good time trick-or-treating, kiddo?” Mom asked, giving my shoulder a squeeze.

“Yeah, it was fun. Was an interesting night for sure,” I said, still zoning out.  
“Next year I might want to give out the treats instead of going out.”

“Are you sure, honey? You and your friends seem to have a lot of fun when you go out together,” Dad asked, sitting down with a cup of coffee and the local paper. I noticed the front page mentioned Jimmy in a small article, complete with a picture. I held back a shiver as I reached for the orange juice, pouring myself a glass.

“Yeah, I think it might be time to start doing that. Maybe I could have a party here, or an overnight party with my friends before handing out candy?” 

“That sounds like a great idea. And you can always fall back to heading out for candy again if you want. We trust you and know you won’t get into trouble.” Mom said, reaching out for my plate to pile some eggs onto it. 

As I lifted my plate, an item appeared from underneath it. It was the photograph I found last night. 

I pulled it off the table wearily. Dad caught my face over the paper and asked “What’s that?”

I handed the picture over to him and he nodded, his eyebrows raising in recognition. “I was wondering where that picture was. It’s been missing for ages. That your Grandma Jean and Uncle Harold when they were around your age. They’re with a couple of friends in the park in this picture. Where’d you get that?”

“I dunno,” I stared at him in confusion. “It was under my plate. Did you put it there, Mom?”

“Nope, can’t say I did. We should add it to the photo albums in the living room. Want to do that after breakfast?”

As my Dad handed the picture back to me I nodded, staring at the picture. I could see Uncle Harold was wearing the tooth necklace. They stood in the park near the shell, a red wooden cart off to the side. As I stared at the picture, my eyes drew to the cart, sending shivers down my spine as I saw part of the face of a man painted on the side. A man with a white and red face.

That’s it. I’m keeping the necklace.

~~ The End ~~


End file.
